The 2024 drivers market has become a hot-bubbling point of discussion for varied reasons. A lot has happened in the last few months and with Mercedes having a seat open for next year, the 2016 world champion, Nico Rosberg has decided to give his take on it.
Mercedes junior, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is being deemed as one of the favorites to fill the void that will be left by Lewis Hamilton. However, Nico Rosberg feels it will not be in the best interest of Mercedes to rope in the 17-year-old young sensation.
The German wants to see Toto Wolff and Co. try some other driver in place of Antonelli.
Well, Antonelli is definitely a superstar of the future. But unfortunately, timing-wise it’s really too early for him, and especially too early for Toto to be able to make a decision on Antonelli. I mean, he needs to wait until somewhat later in the year as we see how Antonelli does in Formula 2 also because he does need a really strong season in Formula 2 to even make it a possibility for him to go straight to Mercedes. Nico Rosberg said Sky Sports F1
Antonelli is currently competing in F2 and as per Rosberg, his season needs to be closely followed to make a decision regarding his F1 future. Alongside the young driver, Mercedes has quite a few options for next year, drivers like Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, and the former four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel have all been linked with the 2025 Mercedes seat.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli could kick start his F1 career with Williams
While Rosberg has urged Mercedes to shy away from the prospect of signing Kimi Antonelli for 2025, he has also come up with a potential solution regarding the Italian driver. Rosberg feels the Williams could be the perfect opportunity for Antonelli to get a taste of F1.
Moreover, Toto Wolff is well-known to have strong ties with the James Vowels-led Williams team.
Otherwise, if anything, some time at Williams or something would make sense. Nico Rosberg said in the same interview
The Grove-based team has had a history of supplying Mercedes with F1-ready drivers. For example, Valtteri Bottas and George Russell both made a jump from Williams to the Brackley-based team.
Keeping this in view everything that has been discussed, Rosberg’s suggestion could be the best way for Mercedes to test out Andrea Kimi Antonelli in F1. With this move, the risk factor would be relatively less for Wolff and Co. and they would be able to make a potent decision regarding the 17-year-old’s future. The upcoming months could give a clearer picture as to what Antonelli would be doing next year.
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